Carbon may be utilized in numerous fashions within the fuel cell industry. For example, carbon materials are commonly used to fabricate a variety of fuel cell components. It is oftentimes desirable to modify these carbon materials in an attempt to improve their performance as part of a fuel cell component in a fuel cell environment. For example, it may be beneficial to alter, among other properties, a particular fuel cell component's affinity towards water by rendering it more hydrophobic or more hydrophilic.